Thursday, September 27, 2012 - Trade
using surface transportation between the United States and its North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, Canada and Mexico, was 4.6 percent
higher in July 2012 than in July 2011, totaling $75.7 billion, unadjusted for
inflation (Table 1 and Figure 1),
according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S.
Department of Transportation.

BTS, a part of the Research and
Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the 4.6 percent annual
increase is the lowest year-to-year rise since increases resumed in December
2009 following the recession. The lower growth rate reflects the reduced cost
of oil and gas, the largest commodity traded by value. Adjusted for inflation and exchange rates, the
July 2012 total was $56.0 billion in 2004 dollars, up 8.8 percent from July
2011.

The July 2012 value of U.S. surface
transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 5.7 percent from July 2008 during
the last recession (Table 3). Data in
the press release are not adjusted for inflation, except for monthly totals in Figure
1.

The value of U.S. surface
transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in July increased by 82.8 percent
compared to July 2002, a period of 10 years. Imports in July were up 66.7
percent since July 2002, while exports were up 105.1 percent (Table 3). See Transborder
Press Releases for historical data.

Surface transportation includes
freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other modes of transport. In July, 86.3
percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 10.0
percent moved by vessel, and 3.7 percent moved by air (Figure 2).

The value of U.S. surface
transportation trade with Canada and Mexico decreased 8.4 percent in July 2012
from June 2012 (Table 2).
Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other
factors.

U.S. trade by surface
transportation with Mexico has increased at a faster pace than trade with
Canada. U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade in July 2012
both increased compared to July 2011 with U.S.-Canada trade reaching $42.9
billion, a 1.0 percent increase, and U.S.-Mexico trade reaching $32.7 billion,
a 9.7 percent increase. For trade statistics by mode, see Table 4 for Canada
and Table 6 for Mexico.

In July, Illinois led all states in surface trade with Canada, at $4.9
billion, a 9.3 percent increase from July 2011 (Table 5). This is the first
time that Illinois has surpassed Michigan in surface trade with Canada since
July 2009. Many automotive plants in
Michigan retool their production facilities in July for the upcoming model
year, which reduces Michigan trade with Canada, as much of that trade is in
automobiles and auto parts.

The top commodity category
transported between the U.S. and Canada by surface modes of transportation in July
was oil and gas, valued at $7.9 billion (Table
8). Oil and gas displaced vehicles as the top commodity in July, due to
auto plant retooling in July.

Texas continued to lead all states
in surface trade with Mexico at $11.9 billion, an 11.8 percent increase from July
2011. Of the top 10 states by value, Tennessee
had the biggest percentage increase, 31.7 percent (Table 7). The top commodity category transported between the U.S.
and Mexico by surface modes of transportation in July was electrical machinery
with $6.7 billion in trade (Table 9).

Technical Note: The BLS indexes used
for Figure 1 adjustment may be revised in each of the three months after
original publication. For example, index
values released in January 2012 will be subject to revision in February, March
and April of that year.

For more information, see Transborder
Press Releases for previous press releases and summary tables. See TransBorder
Freight Data for data from previous months, and individual state data. BTS has scheduled the release of August
TransBorder numbers for Oct. 30.

Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S.
Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico

NOTES: Numbers might not add
to totals due to rounding. Percent
changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of
truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail,
foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please
refer to the Data Fields section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 3. July 2012 Surface
Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with July of Prior Years

NOTES: Numbers might not add
to totals due to rounding. Percent
changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of
truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail,
foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please
refer to the Data Fields section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by All Surface Modes of
Transportation

NOTES: Numbers might not add
to totals due to rounding. Percent
changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of
truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail,
foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail,
please refer to the Data Fields section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 7. Top 10 States Trading
with Mexico by All Surface Modes of Transportation

SOURCE:
U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on Transborder Freight Data,
available at http://www.bts.gov/transborder/, as of July 20, 2012.

NOTE: Numbers July not add to totals due to
rounding.

Table 9. Top Five Commodities Transported between the U.S. and Mexico by All Surface
Modes of Transportation, July 2012

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation,
Research and Innovative Technology Administration,Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based
on Transborder Freight Data, available athttp://www.bts.gov/transborder/, as of July 13, 2012.